Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Beam Design PDF
Beam Design PDF
Example #1
Select the lightest W-beam that will support a uniformly distrib-
uted load of 3 kip/ft. on a simply-supported span of 20 ft. The
beam is rolled high-strength, low-alloy steel (HSLA).
Step 1 We know the loading and length; the steel has a yield
strength ! YS = 50 ksi . The maximum beam deflection max is not
specified.
3 kip 20 ft.
Step 2 The total load on the beam is = 60 kips . Since
ft.
the loading is symmetrical, R A = R B = 30 kips .
Example #2
Select the lightest W-beam that will support a uniformly distrib-
uted load of 3 kip/ft. on a simply-supported span of 20 ft. and de-
flect no more than 0.6 inches. The beam is rolled high-strength,
low-alloy steel (HSLA).
Steps 1-4 The first few steps are identical to Example #1 because
the beam loading and length are the same. However, we have an
additional constraint of ! max = 0.6 in. From Appendix H, Case #1,
the maximum deflection for a simply-supported beam with a uni-
5wL4
form distributed load is ! max = . We can rewrite the equa-
384EI
tion to find the moment of inertia required to limit the maximum
deflection.
5wL4
Required I =
384E! max Beam Zx (in.3) Ix (in.4)
5 3 kip ( 20 ft.) in. (12 in.) = 600 in.4
4 2 3
W1840 78.4 612
=
384 ft. 30 " 10 3 kip 0.6 in. ft.3 W1250 72.4 394
4
The moment of inertia of a W1636 is 448 in. , which is not W1054 66.6 303
enough. Instead, we need to select a beam with a moment of iner-
tia greater than 600 in.4, such as W1840, which has a weight of W1636 64.0 448
40 lb./ft. or 0.040 kip/ft. W1240 57.5 310
Required I =
384 ft. 30 ! 10 kip 0.6 in. ft.3
3
Example #3
Select the lightest W-beam that will support a point load of 40 kips
at the midspan of a simply-supported 30 foot span.
Step 1 P = 40 kips , L = 30 ft. , ! YS = 50 ksi , max is not speci-
fied.
Step 2 The total load on the beam is 40 kips. Since the loading is
40 kips
symmetrical, R A = R B = = 20 kips .
2
Step 3 The shear diagram for a point load at the midspan is two
rectangles. The moment diagram is a triangle, where Mmax is the
area of the shear diagram up to the midspan, or the area of the left-
hand rectangle: M max = 20 kips ! 15 ft. = 300 kip ft.
1.67M 1.67 " 300 kip ft. in.2 12 in. Beam Zx (in.3)
Required Z x = =
! YS 50 kips ft. W2162 144
= 120.2 in.3
W1474 126
Select W1860, with a weight of 60 lb./ft., or 0.06 kips/ft. W1860 123
W2150 110
V1 = R A = R B = 20.9 kips
0.06 kip 15 ft.
V2 = V1 ! = 20 kips
ft.
V3 = V2 ! 40 kips = !20 kips
V4 = V3 + 20.9 kips = 0 kips
Solve Step 4 as before. For Step 5, we can add the reaction forces
for the two cases:
P wL 40 kips 0.06 kips 30 ft.
RA = RB = + = + = 20.9 kips
2 2 2 ft. 2
The maximum shear load occurs at the same place in both shear
diagrams (the ends of the beams) and is equal to the reactions, so
Vmax = R A = R B = 20.9 kips .
The maximum moment occurs at the same place in both moment
diagrams (the midspan), so we can add the maximum moments for
both cases:
M max = + = +
4 8 4 ft. 8
= 306.75 kip ft.
This use of the Formula Method and Superposition only works for
shear loads when the maximum values of the two cases occur at
the same location; likewise for maximum moment. For example, if
the initial loading is a point load which is not at the midspan as in
Case #6, then the maximum shear load Vmax = R A , but the maxi-
mum moment is not at the midspan. You can add the maximum
shear loads of Cases #1 and #6 because they coincide, but you
cannot add the maximum moments because they do not coincide.
Example #4
Select the lightest W-beam that will support a point load of 5 kips
3 feet from the end of a 10-foot cantilever beam. The maximum
deflection is 0.50 inches.
Step 1 P = 5 kips , L = 10 ft. , location of the point load a = 3 ft. ,
! YS = 50 ksi , ! = 0.5 in. .
Step 2 The total load on the beam is 5 kips, so the force reaction
R B = P = 5 kips . The point load is 7 feet from the wall, so the
moment reaction M B = 5 kips ! 7 ft. = 35 kip ft.
1.67M 1.67 " 35 kip ft. in.2 12 in. Beam Zx (in.3) Ix (in.4)
Required Z x = = = 14.0 in.3
! YS 50 kips ft. W824 23.2 82.8
W625 has a Zx of 18.9 in.3, which meets the requirements, but W1216 20.1 103
W1216 is 36% lighter, with a weight of 16 lb./ft., or 0.016
W625 18.9 53.8
kips/ft.
W1012 12.6 53.8